Magic Can't Fix Everything
by NomNomBabies
Summary: Just a quick look into an older Valkyrie's head when she knows that her feelings for Skulduggery have become less than innocent.


On her twenty first birthday, in a hall surrounded by her magical friends, Valkyrie Cain watched Skulduggery Pleasant fondly as he chatted to the party guests. He had been with her since she was twelve and now she couldn't imagine life without him. No one really understood what they had together, but their friendship had saved both their lives on so many occasions. She had grown to love him in that special way and her smile was wide and happy as she celebrated her adulthood with everyone she cared for. Ghastly Bespoke came up beside her and gave her his gift, his scarred ugly face grinning down at her and he scooped her up in a hug.

"Happy Birthday, Val. Been meaning to give you this for a while now."

She smiled in his huge muscular arms and hugged him back as hard as she could. While everything may not be perfect in the world, right now, right here with all her friends was her perfect moment. She unravelled the present carefully and found a beautiful dress, silky and red that flared at the hips and down to just above her knees and had a corset-like design in the top, twisted together with black ribbons and bows. She gasped and stared at his work and he understood her speechlessness. Valkyrie often stared, she had been doing it ever since she had come into the world of magic, but her staring meant she was impressed. He smiled, squeezed her hand and moved away, watching his friend Skulduggery as he gracefully walked towards her. He wasn't wearing one of his disguise faces, his gleaming skull shining in the crowd, along with his impeccably stylish suit, also tailor made by Ghastly. She had thought her simple black dress was enough for the party, but dashed outside to change, pointing to the dress then herself to warn Skulduggery of her plans.

The dress looked as good on as it did off, and Valkyrie spun around enjoying the flow of the skirt. Her bright yellow heels had matched the black dress, but looked slightly out of place with her new one.

"Beautiful as always, the shoes don't match though."

Always an insult with a compliment, but she smiled to herself at the good part and turned to scowl at him for the slight. She did wonder how long he was standing there, but it didn't matter too much. At least, that was what she had been telling herself for about few years, the niggling little feeling of that crush for him that never seemed to go away was always in her mind, especially when he looked at her like that. His head tilted to the side and she had come to understand that to be his appreciating look, but what he was enjoying she was never quite sure.

"You better not have been there the whole time, I was changing! And I don't need the shoes to match; people can look at my face instead."

He chuckled to himself, always the modest one, his Valkyrie. His? Where had that come from? She did look stunning, she had grown into one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen, not that he would ever tell her that. One thing Valkyrie did not need was an ego boost. A rustle in the bushes nearby eye had him in defence mode, his hands tingling to produce a flame. Valkyrie picked up in his change immediately and stood beside him, her hand hard as she prepared to fight. She nudged his shoulder and nodded at his head, so Skulduggery could touch the small collar bone tattoos to give him a human face. He nodded and brushed his fingertips over the bones, his entire face shifting to cover his skeleton appearance. He prepared once again but it was all for nothing. A drunken couple fell out of the bush, giggling as they noticed the pair of sorcerers watching them. They toddled back down the main street, the excess adrenaline still tingling Valkyrie and Skulduggery's fingers.

Valkyrie turned to laugh at their fright but faced a handsome man before her. The spell giving Skulduggery his face was randomised, giving him a new one every time. This once shared the high cheekbones of all the faces but added piercing blue eyes and shoulder length brown hair. This one was handsome; she liked it a lot and couldn't help but stare a little longer. The face stared back, smiling a little at her unusual silence. A hand on her shoulder did nothing to change the sudden extra beat to her heart, the tingling in her fingers that had nothing to do with the scare, and her sudden impulse to kiss the full lips in front of her. She knew who this was, she knew what he really looked like, and she wanted both.

This was nothing like she had felt before, her feelings for Skulduggery were never completely innocent, but this was different. They were alone, he looked like he should, he was smiling at her and the hand that was resting on her shoulder was his, was her Skulduggery. She was inch away when the face changed; turning back to the skull she had always known. She stared into the smiling teeth and the empty eyes, still wishing those full lips were there to kiss. He sighed and she knew he had removed the illusion on purpose. Valkyrie kissed the pointed cheekbone, trying to hide her moment of weakness and moved to walk inside, but he grabbed her upper arm lightly and pulled her into a gentle but bony hug.

"I'm sorry, Val, but you know we spoke about this. It can't happen, it shouldn't. And I won't let it. I won't let the bad guys hurt you for any more reason than being my detective partner. I'm not right for you. And you need someone human."

She nodded into his thin chest, her face burning with embarrassment. With a forced grin she skipped past him and inside the hall, leaving the Skeleton Detective with a determined but saddened heart. Something had changed between them as Valkyrie had gotten older, but he couldn't let himself hurt her. Despite his many powers and the magic spell for his face, love was the power his had no control over, no matter how much he wished a small touch would take it away.


End file.
